Skull Candy XTfree Wireless Earbuds Review

We are definite fans of Skull Candy here at TechNuovo. We have tried and tested their products before and have thoroughly enjoyed them. So when we heard about their latest release, we had to get some.

Skull Candy has released a new range of sports ear phones, the XTfree and XTplyo and the difference between them; one is wired and one is wireless of course! We got sent the wireless Bluetooth XTfree set to try out.

When the parcel arrived, I was greeted with bold packaging and images of people working hard in the gym, motivational you may say. So as you guessed it, these are focused towards the athletic type, who like to exercise and listen to music at the same time. But of course, you can use them in any circumstance! The ear phones are well presented and protected in the packaging and its contents includes the ear phones, different ear bud sizes, USB cable, carry case and instructions. Some of the features highlighted on the packaging include:

Feather light & low profile

Triplelock tech delivers a secure fit

Blocks sweat, water and rain.

Out of the box the ear phones look and feel great. I got a black pair and they have a contrasting matte and gloss finish, with the Skull Candy logo imprinted on each ear phone. The build quality is very good and they are lightweight, but they are not quite as small as traditional ear phones. This is in no way an issue though. The ear phones come with various ear bud sizes to suit most ears and I didn’t have a problem finding the right size. They fitted really well within my ear and thanks to the additional support arm, that’s what I’ll call them, really stayed put for a long time. I took these on the treadmill and didn’t need to adjust them for my entire jog. As you would expect with Skull Candy, they do come in various colours, some of which quite funky.

As these are Bluetooth ear phones, there is only a single cable from ear to ear, with an inline volume control, on/off, play/pause button and includes a microphone for voice calls. On the left ear phone, there is a small cover, underneath is a micro USB port, used to charge the ear phones. There is an incredibly small battery in these ear phones, capable of providing up to 6 hours of playback.

Setting up the ear phones was so simple. I turned the Bluetooth on my phone on, held down the on button on the ear phones and waited a couple of seconds for them to pair and that was it, easy. The instructions were not required at all. I also noticed on my phone that next to the Bluetooth symbol, was a small battery indicator. It was showing the battery life of the ear phones! What a great feature to help you identify your battery levels and avoid you going to the gym with only 10 minutes of playback.

The sound quality of these is brilliant and I enjoyed listening to music with them, and movies. The music is crisp, identifying each musical instrument and beautifully defined vocals. The balance of frequencies is really good as well, the bass has a solid kick to it but I can still hear everything else perfectly well. There is a positive amount of sound isolation with the headphones, both for the user and people around, so you won’t annoy anyone on the bus. I haven’t been on a plane with these but I imagine these would make for an enjoyable companion!

Once again Skull Candy have excelled with the XTfree wireless ear phones. They are so comfortable, very lightweight, easy to use and sound superb. What more can I say than go and buy some?

Prices start from £39.99 for the wired version and £79.99 for the wireless version. Visit the official Skull Candy website for more info and to purchase.